The pre-trial detention of the founder and head of the Telegram platform, Pavel Durov, was extended last night, the day after his arrest at Bourges International Airport, pursuant to an investigation warrant for various offenses through the digital application, which, among other things, allows the exchange of encrypted messages.
Flanked by a bodyguard and his assistant who accompanies him permanently, the billionaire with dual — French and Russian — citizenship, 39, was arrested on Saturday night, an AFP source close to the prosecution said.
The creator, president and CEO of Telegram had departed from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and was due to spend the night in Paris, where he planned to have dinner, a source familiar with the investigation added.
According to another source, a judge decided to extend Mr Durov’s pre-trial detention, which can last up to 96 hours, last night as he faces charges linked to “organized crime”.
After the 96 hours have passed, Pavel Durov can either be released, or brought before a judge to face trial.
OFMIN, France’s agency responsible for prosecuting crimes against minors, had issued a search warrant against Mr. Durov, as he has taken a coordinating role in a preliminary investigation into various offenses — from fraud to drug trafficking, online harassment, organized crime , even glorifying terrorism—, according to an AFP source.
The investigation involves the electronic crime prosecution service of the National Organized Crime Agency as well as ONAF, an anti-customs fraud agency, according to agency sources.
The French justice accuses Pavel Durov of being inactive (absence of any control, lack of cooperation with the prosecuting authorities) despite the illegal use of the platform by its subscribers.
“Enough with the impunity of Telegram,” said one of the investigators with satisfaction, with a dose of surprise that the billionaire, despite knowing that he was wanted in France, decided to travel to Paris. “Perhaps because of the feeling that he has absolute impunity,” commented one of the sources.
“Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and often travels to Europe,” assured Telegram last night. “It is absurd to claim that a platform, or its owner, is responsible for abuses” of the features provided through it, it insisted, adding the company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“Telegram complies with European Union legislation, including the Digital Services Act” and “content control complies with the rules” of companies in its industry, the company added.
The platform was founded in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. Their aim was to create an alternative to the major American social networking sites, which are often criticized for the commercial exploitation of their users’ personal data. Telegram emphasizes that it does not and will never disclose data of its users.
The arrest of Mr. Durov provokes intense reactions at the international level. “#FreePavel,” demanded Platform X owner Elon Musk. The richest man in the world then added sharply in French: “Liberté. Liberty! Liberty?”.
In Russia, where Telegram is among the most widely used social networking sites, with channels sometimes having hundreds of thousands of followers, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Russian embassy in Paris was immediately mobilized “as usual” in cases of arrests of Russian citizens. abroad.
Besides, recalling that several NGOs at the international level had condemned in 2018 a court decision to shut down Telegram, a decision that was never implemented, Ms. Zakharova wondered if “they will appeal to Paris” to release Mr. Durov “or plug it.”
In one of the few interviews he has given, Pavel Durov told American host Tucker Carlson in Dubai in April that he decided to set up the encrypted messaging service after suffering a lot of pressure from Russian authorities over VK, a social networking site he created back home. before he sold it and left Russia in 2014.
He then tried settling in Berlin, London, Singapore, San Francisco, before finally choosing Dubai, which he praises for its business environment and “neutrality”.
“I think we’re doing well,” Telegram has “900 million users that will probably surpass a billion active users within a year,” he noted.
In the Gulf emirate, Telegram is shielded from other states’ regulations and controls as the European Union and the US put increasing pressure on major social media platforms to delete content they say is illegal.
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